This invention relates to reaction products of formaldehyde, with diarly compounds such as diphenyl oxide, and to a process for their preparation.
It is known from Makromolekulare Chemie 97:163 (1966) and 107:196 (1967); British patent No. 942,057; and Ser. No. 236,472 filed Mar. 20, 1972, now abandoned, that resins can be prepared from formaldehyde and diphenyl oxide. However, the resins do not have methoxymethyl substituents.
It is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,873 that alkyloxymethyl diphenyl ethers can be prepared by chloromethylating diphenyl ether and then etherifying with lower alcohols. Recent toxicological studies have shown that bischloromethyl ether, used in the preparation of the above chloromethyl diphenyl ethers, may be carcinogenic. The present route of directly preparing similar methoxymethyl derivatives is advantageous as it avoids the intermediacy of chloromethyl ethers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,448 discloses condensation products of naphthalene, formaldehyde, and aliphatic hydroxy hydrocarbon compounds.